Where did you solo dive today?

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Did two dives at Rappahannock Quary in Fredericksburg VA
 
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Solo SM yesterday
Blue Hole in Guam
On air
As I was exiting the hole around 60 ft I came upon a single fin just floating there. Serene. Contemplation was momentarily perplexing and perfect.
Looked around for a diver sans fin but nada. Grabbed said fin and came out over the edge of the hole and voila! Another fin, this time with a diver frantically water kicking/scooching to get to it. I grabbed diver and fin as he was ascending and let out some bcd air, supported him as he replaced his fins. He gave me a thumbs up which confused me and I asked if he needed help ascending. Then he gave me the OK sign. Oh, cool! We went our separate ways. Later on the surface he told me the fins were loose and just slipped off.

Max depth 133 ft, average depth 52 ft. Total time 60 min.
Hit NDL at 9 min in at 129 ft
Deco obligation 7 min plus SS 5 min and 2 min slow ascent from 20 ft= TTS 14 min greatest constraint
GF50/75
T1: 3080 psi->1538
T2: 3200 psi->1484
Exit GF 64%
Slow current to the north (deep) then as I ascended I merged with a fast current south and actually ended right where I started. Deco was on a line (my DSMB) in the current.nice pleasant warm dive.

Even though my total dive was 60 min (which is the max allowed on this boat) I think I did the others a disservice by incurring a deco obligation. If there had been a diver recall, I potentially could have slowed down the emergency response. So despite the brevity of the dive and short deco, and the fact that I’d planned it for weeks, and my redundancies and huge reserves, I think it was a poor choice on my part because of that particular issue. Tech boats for tech dives, rec boats for rec dives.
 
... Even though my total dive was 60 min (which is the max allowed on this boat) I think I did the others a disservice by incurring a deco obligation. If there had been a diver recall, I potentially could have slowed down the emergency response. So despite the brevity of the dive and short deco, and the fact that I’d planned it for weeks, and my redundancies and huge reserves, I think it was a poor choice on my part because of that particular issue. Tech boats for tech dives, rec boats for rec dives.

If the captain okayed your planned deco dive ahead of time, then no need to have regrets, I think. It's important to know the captain's dive emergency procedures, though.

rx7diver
 
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If the captain okayed your planned deco dive ahead of time, then no need to have regrets, I think. It's important to know the captain's dive emergency procedures, though.

rx7diver
Yeah I agree
We spoke afterward (the skipper and I) and he asked me to keep any deco dives to planned boat deco trips. One operator does weekly “tech friendly” dives. The rec divers do two 1 hour dives with a 1 hour SI and the tech divers have three hours to do whatever they want. I assume if there was an emergency and they recalled the Divers, the recreational divers were all ascend, and the technical divers would continue their plan, and I suppose the skipper would send a second boat to pick up the technical divers, however I do not know what their actual protocol is. I guess I should find out.

Now, back on topic:
Planning a beautiful solo night dive tonight. Report to follow…
 
…Solo SM 2 dives, both peaceful and enjoyable

I was carrying my 40 CF pony with 60%. No intention of using it but needed to work out some bungee issues while slinging it. Done.

Dive 1. Tarzan
Max depth 65 ft, Ave depth 47 ft
Time 1 hr 3 min
T1: 3652 -> 1978 psi (80 cf air)
T2: 3710 -> 2112 psi (80 cf air)
T3: 2996 psi no change (40 cf 60%)
Found a nudibranch, octopus.
Rode the NDL

Dive 2. Vecky’s out to Spanish Steps
Similar profile
Too lazy to type out the numbers.
Great peaceful dive
 
Gun Beach (Guam) this morning after work
Seas were so calm, so beautiful and serene
First time I’ve done this shore dive in the day light. Visibility felt like forever.
There were at least four other divers and a handful of snorkelers in the vicinity, and a boat that breached the safety area but whatever, it’s a tourist haven.

Expected to see turtles and octopi but it’s day time and I saw nothing but a 6 ft long back tipped reef shark toward the end of the dive. And all your normal fish that I don’t know any of the names of.

Very mellow rip current at end of dive, mild surge in the shallows.
Backplate and wing with 80 alum on the back (air) and 19 cf pony (40% nitrox).

75 minutes
3222 psi->732 psi
Depth max 45 ft
Average 29 ft
Didn’t touch the pony.

Definitely noticed my breathing was off and buoyancy. Chalk this up to being awake for 24 hours and not diving the wing for a while but I was not diving my A game.
 
New dive site today. Pike Lake, just outside Duluth, Minnesota. It's around 500 acres in size, 60 feet at it's deepest, and apparently much clearer these days thanks to the invasive zebra mussels.

70min, max of 20' in 58°F water. Visibility was 10 to maybe 15 feet. Was surprisingly pleasant. Visually interesting vegetation, a few fish (think this one is a small Perch) and thankfully no boats.

I'll be back😎
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June 8th, 10 Mile Point shore dive site, Haro Straight, Vancouver Island; splashed at 8:21am. A wonderful slack was encountered. Mill pond surface conditions, gave way to amazing vis, all the way down to my deepest, of 95'. 30' vis in a light green haze, was consistent throughout the water column. 66' avg depth, temp 9C, a nice 40 min dive. 3400 psi in my Faber 100 Hp to start, 500 psi to end. 30cu Catalina pony, 2950 psi, start and finish.
 
Visibility is finally improving... after a couple weeks of just 3-5 feet, I dove Lake Ore-be-Gone, an abandoned iron mine in Gilbert, Minnesota yesterday. Water was surprisingly warm, 65°F, visibility above the thermocline was 15-20' and the bass and panfish seem to have returned to their usual summer hangouts.

Didn't get the neo neck seal just right and got pretty wet. Thankfully it was near 80°F for the interval so warmed and dried quickly. Second dive was warm and dry. Anyone have tips for tucking a neo neck seal by yourself?

The highlight of the diving was the loon that swam by at 20'. Visible for just seconds so didn't manage a decent photo.

2 dives, 30' max, about an hour each.

Smallmouth Bass
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Well it wasn't the neck seal, my zipper is separating from the neoprene but appears to be a reasonable aqua seal repair 🤞.

Was back in Pike Lake (Duluth, MN) today. Visibility has been poor there but didn't feel like the hour drive to Lake Ore-be-Gone. It's been a week since I last dove here and was hopeful things had improved.... Still pretty bad, but the waters warming an found a big school bass (smallmouth?), hanging out on what I now call the "bass boat"😂

20' max, for 72 min. 66°F water temp.
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https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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